The experience of Nehemiah, son of Hachaliah, stands out as an illuminating exemplification of the correct mental attitude toward error. As related in the book of Nehemiah, the report that the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and the gates consumed with fire at first brought dismay and grief to the heart of this sincere child of Israel. After much prayer, however, there dawned upon him the realization that it was his work to rebuild the wall.

Like Nehemiah, the Christian Scientist who has caught some vision of the mission of scientific Christianity, namely, the redemption of all mankind from sin, sickness, and death, has consciously commenced his part in the construction of the wall of defense, by endeavoring to establish in his own thinking the truths of the Mind "which was also in Christ Jesus;" for he has learned that by the purification of every individual consciousness will the kingdom of heaven be made manifest on earth.

Once having perceived the necessity of building the wall, Nehemiah did not vary from the course of action unfolded to him as the correct one. He listened to none of the arguments of lack of ability, time, means, understanding, which then, as now, would lull heavenly aspirations into complacence with negative or half-hearted activity. No sooner had he set about his task than impersonal evil, the devil, who "as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour," commenced operations to root out the good intention, nullify its effect, and induce Nehemiah to give up his project. Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arabian, and many other insidious adversaries began to aim their mental shafts at those portions of Nehemiah's armor which might be supposed to be weakest.

It is interesting to note, however, that the only power of these would-be destroyers of the work of erecting the wall lay in their seeming ability to offer or present their claims for acceptance: they had no power of enforcement. They could merely threaten, cajole, flatter, frighten; they could not coerce. Nehemiah's "No" was all that was required to nullify their seeming power. Relying wholly upon God, the children of Israel struck no material blow, entered no actual conflict with the adversary. Just so, we do not have to engage in any materialistic struggle. The "Get thee hence, Satan," of the great Exemplar, uttered in realization of God's all-ness and omnipotence, is sufficient. Though the claims of error may be presented again and again, apparently growing subtler with every repetition, claiming to come as our own thinking, and even to stand in the guise of good, the understanding of man as the image and likeness of God, divine Mind, enables one to overcome them all. On page 3 of "Pulpit and Press" Mrs. Eddy writes: "Know, then, that you possess sovereign power to think and act rightly, and that nothing can dispossess you of this heritage and trespass on Love. If you maintain this position, who or what can cause you to sin or suffer?" Realization of this "sovereign power" is all we need. Before it the claims of error, with their manifestations of sickness, discord, lack, must vanish as darkness before light.

As often with us, the first weapon chosen by the adversary of Nehemiah's good works was ridicule. Error attempted to laugh his endeavors to scorn. But he who may, perhaps, be tempted to slacken in his zeal for Truth for fear of the ridicule of relatives, business associates, or friends, may well pattern his reply on Nehemiah's: "The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build."

When the results of the work began to be manifest, this ridicule became more virulent and vindictive. Then Nehemiah, recognizing the evil nature of these attacks, blotted out his fears in prayer to God: "Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head."

Blocked in its attempt to destroy the work through ridicule, evil chose subtler weapons. It threw out suggestions of discouragement because of the weakness of the workers, and because of the "much rubbish" apparently present. It followed this with an attempt to "come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease." In other words, the plan was to cause the Jews to become self-mesmerized; to get them to invite into consciousness and entertain the suggestion that matter or so-called material law has power or presence. But again Nehemiah, truly standing "porter at the door of thought" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, p. 392), discerned the insidious nature of the suggestion, and brought the plan to naught by filling his consciousness with faith in the power and availability of God.

Moreover, warned by this attack, he thereafter caused every worker in the work to labor with one hand, and to hold in the other a weapon. Should not we too awaken to the necessity of uncovering and destroying error, as well as declaring and realizing the truth? Mrs. Eddy's statement on page 210 of "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany," regarding that which, later in the same article, she terms "this mistaken way" is significant: "Certain individuals entertain the notion that Christian Science Mind-healing should be two-sided, and only denounce error in general,—saying nothing, in particular, of error that is damning men."

Even when the wall was all but finished, and the children of Israel who had participated in the work were dwelling safely within it, evil did not relax its efforts. Its modus now was to inveigle Nehemiah, by every persuasion it could contrive, to leave the protection of the wall and meet error on its own level, in "some one of the villages in the plain of Ono." It was immaterial in just what manner Nehemiah should forgather with the enemy, if he would just come down—only once! If he could only be persuaded, now that he had accomplished so much, to relax a little, or believe that this work had been done of himself; if he could only be deceived into investigating some "short-cut" to harmony, or into engaging in acrimonious dispute about the minutiæ of the work—if, in short, he could be influenced to depart from his perfect confidence in God, even for a little while, then error might have a chance to undo the work! But Nehemiah was not to be deceived by any of error's seductive or malicious efforts: "I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?"

Why, indeed, should the glorious work ever cease, while we come down to error's level? We too are doing a great work, vaster than the vision of any of us can as yet compass. There is much to be done, and "the labourers are few." The demand is insistent for the alertness, the wisdom, the childlike, rugged simplicity of the meek, hence powerful, Nehemiah.